Speed Kills "myth"

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by justme1969

How that same Malibu would fare against a 59 caddi with the bullet bumper.

The '59 Caddy didn't have much of a bullet bumper nose. link

Bullet bumpers were an earlier design, more like 1953. link

Oh, and the REAR end of the '53 also had bumper bullets. link
Those were the good old days.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Xist

If you did not waste your time watching the video:

It's like skydiving - nothing bad will happen until you hit the ground.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by XYZ

It's like skydiving - nothing bad will happen until you hit the ground.

Yes, but if you miss the ground, then you learn to fly, like Arthur Dent.

[Allch Chcar]

The biggest issue as speed, or velocity if you wish, is reaction time goes down. The ancillary concerns are fuel economy, road wear and tear(especially with semi's), and safety standards. Most cars are designed to handle impacts closer to 35mph. The cost to increase their safety to 55mph is exponential. And the severity of the crash is going to be worse as speeds increase.

Remember when semis were limited to 55mph? If a semi hits you at anything past 35, there is only so much that engineering can compensate. Just remember that semis have a stopping distance several times that of the stereotyped SUV.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Xist

Yes, but if you miss the ground, then you learn to fly, like Arthur Dent.

I needed to Google Arthur Dent to find out who he was.

Did he ever hit the ground? If so, did he leave a dent?

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

The biggest issue as speed, or velocity if you wish, is reaction time goes down. The ancillary concerns are fuel economy, road wear and tear(especially with semi's), and safety standards. Most cars are designed to handle impacts closer to 35mph. The cost to increase their safety to 55mph is exponential. And the severity of the crash is going to be worse as speeds increase.

Remember when semis were limited to 55mph? If a semi hits you at anything past 35, there is only so much that engineering can compensate. Just remember that semis have a stopping distance several times that of the stereotyped SUV.

So - if we were to reduce the speed limit to 35 MPH or less on all roads, hardly anyone would ever be killed in a crash, right?

Let's do it. It would save lives, wouldn't it? Why not do it?

Better yet, let's lower the universal speed limit to 21 and raise the drinking age to 55.

Then no one would die, right?

Are you familiar with the Eighteenth Amendment?

[niky]

Well, considering cars are only crash-tested and certified to 45 mph, the chances of people dying become very, very small indeed, unless two cars going 35 hit each other head on... with unbelted passengers.

The reason we don't do any of those things, though, is a very low speed limit would be detrimental to the economy. Time is money, and below a certain speed, you're sacrificing money for safety.

While people view the government as a safety Nazi, there's a good reason that ejector seats and parachutes for each passenger aren't mandatory for airliners... the amount of risk reduction and death prevention doesn't outweigh the costs.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by XYZ

I needed to Google Arthur Dent to find out who he was.

Did he ever hit the ground? If so, did he leave a dent?

Sorry, sometimes I am too obscure. I do not remember the plot of that novel.

Originally Posted by XYZ

So - if we were to reduce the speed limit to 35 MPH or less on all roads, hardly anyone would ever be killed in a crash, right?

Let's do it. It would save lives, wouldn't it? Why not do it?

Better yet, let's lower the universal speed limit to 21 and raise the drinking age to 55.

Then no one would die, right?

Are you familiar with the Eighteenth Amendment?

Don't make me look it up! I never remember which is the one to not incriminating myself or whatever! I just plead all of them!

I follow your argument like most people follow the speed limit.

[euromodder]

Speed is the main causal factor in only about 3 to 5% of all accidents.

The effective speed limits in Belgium are lower than in the Netherlands, Germany, France or the UK (though they allow about 6 mph less on motorways).
Yet our road death toll is about double of what these countries have.

Germany has its unlimited autobahn - though that's getting more and more limited these days - and allows 100kph outside villages.
Yet it's still amongst the safest countries in the world ...

There's simply no relation between the allowed speeds, and the road death toll.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Xist

Don't make me look it up! I never remember which is the one to not incriminating myself or whatever! I just plead all of them!

Here's a clue: The Eighteenth Amendment is the one that was repealed.